Do you know what medicines are like in Albania? The often questionable quality and the outrageous price. Do you also know what pensioners have to give up to get a refund that seems simple on paper, but in practice is a long and tiring road.
Apparently, only the minister has no idea. While citizens are faced with pharmacies and high drug bills every day, she travels all the way to Rome to meet with those who have been solving this problem for years. She posts photos and still hasn't realized that in Albania the drug mafia is just as dangerous as the AKSHI one and that the solution is not found in Evis Sala's filtered photos.
According to the official announcement, a "constructive meeting" took place in Rome between the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Evis Sala, and the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA). A moment, it is said, important for the pharmaceutical reform in Albania and for the path towards European integration.
The ministry's priority - always according to the statement - is modernization, strengthening patients' access to safe and quality medicines, as well as the approximation of legislation with the European Union acquis and the obligations of the integration process.
The meeting also discussed a future institutional cooperation framework, including a Memorandum of Understanding that is still under discussion, to strengthen cooperation in areas that sound very technical: from Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and pharmacovigilance, to regulatory policies and quality standards.
In short, a "valuable" partnership that is expected to help build a more sustainable, transparent and fully European pharmaceutical system.
Meanwhile, in Albania, pensioners continue to do the math: how much the medicine costs, how much is reimbursed, and how much they have left from their pension after they leave the pharmacy. But at least we have the photos from Rome – with filters and flags.
